Wumpscut announces the April 18 release of the new Wumpscut album “Chew Chew Chew” on Betonkopf Media.

The album comes as a Limited Edition of 300 copies on brown vinyl, pressed with direct metal mastering for superior audio quality. Featuring heavy 180g vinyl and a printed inner bag, this edition is of course a collector’s item.

For CD enthusiasts, there is a CD release as well with a slightly adjusted tracklist. The album comes presented in a jewel case with a 4-page booklet.

Just as last year, also this time, there will be no ‘physical’ DJ Dead release.

And also out on the same date is a vinyl reissue of “Fuc*it”, the 16th anniversary edition that is. This special edition comes in a limited edition of 300 copies on red vinyl, with the same direct metal mastering and 180g heavy vinyl. Originally released on April 3, 2009, “Fucit” features the single “Cut the Boo”.

Originally active between 1991 and 2017, before Rudy Ratzinger put the project to rest, Wumpscut returned in 2021 with “Fledermavs”.

About Wumpscut

:Wumpscut: (stylized as :wumpscut: or :W:) is a German electro-industrial project founded in May 1991 by Bavarian musician Rudolf “Rudy” Ratzinger, born on June 3, 1966, in Gangkofen, Bavaria.

Prior to establishing :Wumpscut:, Ratzinger worked as a DJ in Bavarian clubs, where he was influenced by acts like Leæther Strip, prompting him to create his own music.

The project gained significant attention with the 1993 release of “Soylent Green”, a track named after the 1973 film and incorporating samples from its German-dubbed version. This song became popular in gothic and industrial music scenes in both Germany and the United States.

Notably, :Wumpscut: has never performed live, with Ratzinger stating, “I cannot come up to my self-set level.”

In 1995, Ratzinger established his own record label, Beton Kopf Media, to release :Wumpscut: material in Europe. The following year, he founded the label Mental Ulcer Forges, which released albums by artists such as Noisex and Yendri.

By 2017, Ratzinger announced that :Wumpscut: would cease producing new music, releasing a “best of” album titled “Innerfire.” However, in November 2020, he announced a return with the album “Fledermavs 303”, which was subsequently released on April 2, 2021.

Over the years, :Wumpscut: has released numerous studio albums, compilations, and remixes. The project’s discography includes notable albums such as “Music for a Slaughtering Tribe” (1993), “Bunkertor 7” (1995), “Embryodead” (1997), and “Wreath of Barbs” (2001).

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com

The cult dark electro act Wumpscut returns with a brand new EP entitled ‘Schlossgheist’. This new EP features 4 new tracks and 4 instrumentals. This new EP was released today by Metropolis Records on CD along with all digital and streaming formats.

Rudy Ratzinger serves as the mastermind behind Wumpscut, occasionally enlisting guest artists like Aleta Welling, P·A·L, and Selene for contributions, though these collaborations have been relatively limited.

Wumpscut’s initial performances trace back to the early 1990s, with Rudy Ratzinger showcasing his music in clubs throughout Bavaria and Southern Germany. In an interview from 1997, Ratzinger shared that his earliest ventures into EBM music were “Pornography” and “War Combattery,” both featured on “Defcon,” Wumpscut’s debut demo released in late 1991.

To this point, Rudy Ratzinger has produced seventeen studio albums, in addition to a collection of demos, compilation appearances, and remixes of previously deleted singles and EPs.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Dark-Electro.

Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl.

Background/Info: Last year Rudy Ratzinger took us by surprise bringing :Wumpscut: back alive releasing the album “Fiedermavs 303”. And the resurrection moves on as we again get new stuff.

Content: The work takes off with the familiar “Justin Kohlenklau” (previously released as single) revealing the familiar punchy :W: sound which is danceable and elaborated. We next get three more songs revealing a ‘softer’- but recognizable style. The samplings remain an essential part of the work. The next part of the EP reveals instrumental edits of the same songs. 

+ + + : “Justin Kohlenklau” is a great song reminding us of the genius of Ratzinger. A bit of provocation, aggressive and dark sound treatments, Rudy’s familiar growls and a danceable cadence. The instrumental edit sounds pretty cool as well. 

– – – : I’m afraid the other tracks of the EP can’t totally convince me. The songs are repetitive and without a climax. So in the end we get a great song and EP fillers.

Conclusion: :Wumpscut: will always remain a legendary formation which accomplished multiple essential works in the Dark-Electro style but I can’t count this new work on the list.

Best songs: “Justin Kohlenklau”, “Justin Kohlenklau – Instrumental”.

Rate: 6½.

Artist: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100050495769385

Label: www.metropolis-records.com / www.facebook.com/MetropolisRecords

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Out via Metropolis Records on the 29th of April is the all new Wumpscut EP “For Those About To Starve”.

Last year’s “Fledermaus 303” already saw the return of the cult dark electro act after four years of deadly silence. Now, in 2022, the Bavarian electro grand-master Rudy Ratzinger returns with a new EP which features 4 new tracks and 4 instrumental versions.

Here is the tracklist:

1. Justin Kohlenklau 8:18
2. Scared Half To Death 9:39
3. Kühlwalda 11:38
4. Nullum Crimen Sine Lege 6:51
5. Justin Kohlenklau (Instrumental) 8:27
6. Scared Half To Death (Instrumental) 9:37
7. Kühlwalda (Instrumental) 11:48
8. Nullum Crimen Sine Lege (Instrumental) 6:53

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com

Out on April 2nd is the first all new :Wumpscut: album since 2016’s “Wüterich”. The new album will come in 3 physical formats, a limited vinyl edition (300 copies), a CD and a digital CD.

Here’s an idea how the artwork looks like.

And here’s what to expect…

The return comes as a surprise (or not) as Rudy Ratzinger aka :Wumpscut: said he was finished with making music for (more or less) nothing back in 2017. He also hinted at stopping earlier that year when the “best of” album “Innerfire” was released on May 5th, 2017. Ratzinger had then announced that :Wumpscut: would no longer be producing or making any new music.

Luckily enough he has now changed his mind. Welcome back!

The project was and again is one of the leading dark electro bands around since being founded in May 1991 by Bavarian disc jockey Rudolf “Rudy” Ratzinger.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com

Rudy Ratzinger aka Wumpscut has informed us a few minutes ago during a chat session that his Wumpscut project is over and done for good. Rudy: “I am finished with making music for (more or less) nothing and don’t need to make music all my life. Music was just ONE way to express myself.”

With Wumpscut the dark wave scene has now lost a major name. The project was one of the – if not THE – leading dark electro bands around since it was founded in May 1991 by Bavarian disc jockey Rudolf “Rudy” Ratzinger. Already with “Defcon”, the first demo issued by Wumpscut in late 1991, it was clear something great was to happen.

Since then Ratzinger released one cult release after the other and made sure that several generations of dark electro fans knew what real good dark electro sounded like. The project saw seventeen studio albums plus a number of compilations (holding demos, compilation tracks, and remixes from deleted singles and EPs).

When the “best of” album “Innerfire” was released on May 5th, 2017, Ratzinger already had announced that Wumpscut would no longer be producing or making any new music. But whereas many thought this was just a temporal decision it’s now clear that he intends to never ever release any new work again.

The demise of Wumpscut clearly shows the crisis the music world is in these days when even bigger artists have problems earning something at all. Although streaming music income is increasing it still is not covering for the huge loss in income that came from physical releases and even downloads. Add to this that Wumpscut was never a live act and this largely impacted his financial compensation for the hard work he obviously put into his music and artwork.

On behalf of Side-Line’s current and past editorial staff, we thank you Rudy for your incredible contribution to the dark electro scene and the industrial scene in general. Stay connected, and good luck with your future plans!

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com

Out in early may, but available for ordering already right here, is a massive and highly essential career-spanning triple CD set from Wumpscut.

This three disc set collects his best work from his entire career, featuring over forty songs and spanning over 3 and a half hours.

Wumpscut was founded in May 1991 by the Bavarian disc jockey Rudolf “Rudy” Ratzinger. The first 2 songs he ever recorded as being EBM were “Pornography” and “War Combattery”, which were both released on “Defcon”, the first demo issued by Wumpscut in late 1991. Only “Pornography” would be picked for reappearance on “Blutkind” (although a remix of “War Combattery” surfaced on the “Mesner Tracks” re-release EP).

The rest is history, check out the tracklist of this set and you’ll know why this is a must have.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com

Rudy Ratzinger aka Wumpscut is soon to return with his 17th album to date, “Wüterich”. The album comes 1 year after “BlutSpukerTavern” was released and will also see a release in North America. The track list is identical to the EU version, 10 tracks that is.

You can order the North American version right now.

Next to this, there is also a vinyl available right now for ordering which comes on a high quality, heavy 180gr black vinyl with a deluxe gatefold-sleeve. Included is also an MP3 Download code.

And finally there is also a box set available for ordering featuring the main album plus a special 16-tracks bonus-CD in a DVD-sized digipak. Also included is a 5″ vinyl with instrumental versions; an exclusive T-Shirt in M or XL (with front & backprint); a luxury square-sized (21×21 cms) booklet; a poster A1-sized; a calendar A1-sized; a postcard A5-sized; MP3 codes of all vinyl-Tracks and a large bonus-section.

Below are some reworks of the album tracks (the last one can still be downloaded for free):

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

side-line.com